Fast Cars And Beautiful People: The 2016 Montreal Grand Prix

An Insider's Look At The Sexiest Events During The Montreal Grand Prix

We’re still recovering from what is, without a doubt, the biggest weekend of the year in Montreal: the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix. AskMen’s editors set out to check out as many of the exclusive festivities we could handle. Here are some of the highlights.

Friday Night At Auberge St-Gabriel

Spencer Edwards

The evening started out with a fine dinner at this historic establishment, which dates back to 1688 and is now owned by Guy Laliberté (known for co-founding the Cirque du Soleil), restauranteur Marc Bolay, and singer Garou. As plates were cleared, guests moved toward the VIP bottle service featuring sponsors Veuve Clicquot and Belvedere Vodka.

Exclusive Parties

Spencer Edwards

Beneath a flickering neon sign, a secret tunnel leads to an unexpected club, Velvet, packed with sweaty groups of friends and notables, occasionally illuminated by sparklers as more bottles are brought out onto the floor. Events were lined up all weekend at l’Auberge St-Gabriel, including a brunch on Saturday.

Ferrari Party at the St-James Hotel

Always one of the top parties of the weekend, the party hosted by Ferrari and St-James can’t be missed. With Ferraris lining the closed-off St-Jacques street in front of the hotel, champagne (and cheese) flowing, and a crowd made up of both local and international jet-setters, the boutique hotel’s event started at 7pm, was jam-packed for the first couple hours, then started to taper off, so there was plenty of elbow room (and dessert) in the grand main hall of the historic building, formerly a bank, by the time we showed up.

The Grand Prix

The main event of the weekend deserves a spot on this list. The race began at 2pm, which made for a relaxed Sunday morning, including a visit to the pits. Exclusive access at the track meant that we had a bird's-eye view of Red Bull's pit crew executing a complete tire change in less than four seconds. Once the event is underway, the crowds in the Paddocks (we were there as guests of TAG Heuer) are focused on the race, but they still find time to sample the catered spreads. The sun didn’t really come out much this year, but even so, the covered Paddock Club area, accessible only by boat, is definitely the place to be.

Lewis Hamilton

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

When Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix, he radioed to his crew with a fitting message to cap off an emotional week in sports: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, that was for Muhammad Ali."